Netflix alternative...Blockbuster Online

listening in, with interest

Just joined Blockbuster. It costs $14.99 per month now, with three at a time. Stupidly, I joined on the 23rd, so because of Christmas, the first films won't arrive until Monday the 27th. I will let you all know how things develop.

They advertised 25,000 DVDs. Today when I checked the site, they seemed to have upped their inventory to 30,000.

Re: Netflix alternative...Blockbuster Online


I am currently a member of both Blockbuster and Netflix.

Blockbuster is a clone in every way, the language they use everywhere seems lifted from netflix.



In addition they are a cheaper deal.

Compare:

Netflix

8-at-a-time for $47.99
5-at-a-time for $29.99
3-at-a-time for $17.99
2-at-a-time (4 rentals a month) for $11.99


Blockbuster

3 at a time - $14.99
5 at a time - $27.49
8 at a time - $37.49



When Phoenix posted this thread I signed up for the trial and they shipped out right away.

I got the DVDs the next day.



I don't think Netflix has this limit. Their $11.99 plan is limited to 4 per month but they claim that the others are unlimited.

The limit is likely logistics, and the 16 you cite would be near perfect logistics for my usage.

Formula:

They ship on business days only.
I get them use them and ship them out the next day.
They get them the day after that and ship out that day.
I get them the day after that.

So for me there is a 4 day cycle.

((365/12)/7)*5 = 21.73

(22/4)*3 = 16.5

Saturday deliveries, holidays and the occasional remote shipping point are variables.



As phoenix noted they started advertising 25,000 and are now at 30,000.

Netflix advertises "over" 25,000 and they may be over 25,000 now.

I have only done 1 little stock check (to see if BB has TV DVDs like Netflix).

I'll have to check for foreign ones as that is really the only area where I foresee a depth difference being meaningful.

Neither carry porn but BB has a prudish image, so I don't know if they carry NC-17 films.

Random thoughts:

Both have easy packaging to use.
The Netflix website is far far superior. The BB site is slower and ranks far lower in useability.

To me the online tools are important. Netflix is great for discovery. BB's site is so bad that I won't be testing their recommendations/ratings algo (Netflix's is decent with elements that they sought to patent).

BB is a knockoff in every way. They are copying everything (even the javascript rating stars) but not improving it yet.

Unless they offer a logistics advantage (like shipping on Saturdays) I am likely to stick to the more expensive ($10 difference for me) Netflix.

My niece and nephew had the NetFlix mailer when we visited for Christmas day and were going to try their free trial. My nephew-in-law said his business colleague has tried Blockbuster but their delivery time could be as much as three days which effectively could be four if they ship on Thursday. I might try their free trial to see where they mailers come from and how long it takes to get here. I have a Blockbuster five minutes away but they don't carry a good selection of independent and foreign films. Of course, that makes the two free instore rentals very attractive.

instore rental program is great(2movies)
doing this with BB that less than 2 miles and no stop lights. Selection is wonderful and with my present situation I can get almost everything as we're there when they open in the morning.

This is new. At the time I signed up (maybe 3 months ago), there was one plan (3 at a time) & they clearly stated that the limit per month was 16. Looks like they've changed for the better now, though, which is cool.

I guess NetFlix' worst case scenerio would be those who get the three DVD's, watch them that day and return them into the mail in the morning. Accounting for the lag of the weekends, that could clock in well under $1.00 per movie. I've reached about an average of $1.40 which is not a big savings over a brick-and-mortar rental store, considering new movies are about $2.00 and most older movies are $.99. It's just the elimination of the inconvenience of a car trip, usually not being able to bundle it with other errands, and the lack of titles in the store that is attractive.

I find that the site is easy to navigate, but their recommendations are useless. I purposely rated a lot of films. The ones that they advised were not at all what I would watch. I then "X"ed out a bunch that I did not want, and the next bunch that they advised was as bad as the first.

Anyhow, when I check out a film, I look at the Internet Movie Data Base, and the Movie Review Query Engine. Between the two of them, I get a pretty good idea about whether it is a film that I would like.

As a general rule, since Blockbuster has so many films, and I have such a choice, I won't go near anything that is not rated at least 3 1/2 stars.

Phoenix, I find nearly all sites easy to navigate. Netflix far outshines BB in useability (even with BB aping some critical parts).

Netflix gives more information with fewer clicks and the application loads pages more swiftly.

The end result is that you can get more done at Netflix in the same amount of time.

Netflix has a free trial, give it a try.

UPDATE ON MY SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON:

Netflix has now updated their site to claim 30,000 DVDs in response to BB's increase of their figure.

BB just shipped out some more DVD's to me, and so far their turnaround is just as fast as Netflix's.

I'll do some more tests but the price difference may be enough to make me switch. I'll send Netflix this thread, maybe they can try to compete harder on the price breaks as well.

Craven- Don't you have broadband? I find that loading time, for me, is a non-issue.

I am taking a "wait and see" attitude. I was supposed to get three films on Monday. I got two. The warehouse is in Miami, which is on the other side of Florida, from where I am. Apparently, you are getting faster service than I am, but that is probably because of your location.

Yes, and this highlights their sluggishness.

Load time is usually based on two main factors.

1) The time it takes for a server to generate a dynamic page.

2) The time it takes for the page data to be sent to the visitor.

My very fast connection takes care of #2. What I dislike is that their application is more sluggish.

I will take the time to note that Netflix's queue uses JavaScripting that gets slow on that one page when you have a lot of films in your queue (I am at the limit, which is 500).

I have suggested to them that they change the way that works in a fundamental way.

Blockbkuster's queue seems to use the same type of JavaScripting but I haven't loaded it with films to see if it will cause the same delay (it likely will with the same amount of films).

Well, I only have 23 films in my queue. I think that I will just add a few each time that I send one back. Oh, I just realized something. Since I have been around a lot longer than you, I have seen almost all of the old classics. I think that I saw 98 of the 100 top AFI films.

Craven- The thought of watching 500 films boggles my mind!

I have been using Blockbuster Online for almost a month now. I am pretty happy with the service, with one exception. A lot of the DVDs come in looking like that have not been "gently used". I have to clean them first.

I have gotten 15 films in about a month. I am happy with that. The problem is, that two of the DVDs were is such bad shape that they were unplayable. The good part is that as soon as you E Mail them about the problem, they take the defective DVD off your "shipped" list, and send another one out immediately. You can either get another copy of the same film, or opt to get the next film in your queue.

Have other people had that experience with Blockbuster? What about people who use Netflix?

I had stuck that post on a different thread, and it really belonged here. Craven answered:

I've tried both.

I dont know about you Pheonix but when I tried BlockBuster for 2 weeks and I only got two films. I didn't know what happened to them, but IMHO, Netflix provides much better service, both shipping and web-based.

I dont think the sluggishness in my case is due to my location. I live about 1 hours from Baltimore, DC and Harrrisburg.

I have three movies going back today by mail and I will likely get the next three on Wednesday. I figure I get to watch about twelve a month. The one thing that could attrack me to Blockbuster is there is one three minutes from my house and I could take advantage of the free instore rentals. I have to explore Blockbuster's library to see how they do no alternative cinema (non-Hollywood assembly line movies).

Well, as I said before, one of the reasons that I joined Blockbuster Online, was that our house is becoming swamped with "stuff". Between LPs, CDs, VHS tapes and DVDs, I have no place to put anything.

So after a month of viewing and returning a bunch of films, my husband decided that we just HAD to have, "Koyanissqatsi", (which we already have on VHS) and "House of Cards". So we ordered them!

I love Netflix. Blockbuster has busted my block for late fees so many times over the years that I won't use their online service even if it is the same or cheaper than Netflix. I just signed my parents up too, so they don't have to drive 10 miles through the ice and snow to get a movie.

Your husband probably was in rapture over the DVD quality of "Koyanissqatsi." I had the old VHS and bought the DVD and was astounded at the quality of the picture and the sound. Philip Glass never sounded so good! I didn't check to see who composed the score for "Baraka."

I watched "Never Cry Wolf" last night on DVD. I wasn't overly impressed with the transfer. The image was grainy and the sound just so-so. The old copy I had on Beta Hi-Fi was as good or better.